About Dr. Hillerman
Dr. Michael Hillerman joined the faculty of RTS Jackson in 2018 and serves as Assistant Professor of Counseling and Director of the Master of Arts in Counseling program. He teaches a range of core courses in the counseling program including Neuroscience for Counseling, Couples and Family Counseling, Crisis and Trauma Informed Counseling, and Social and Cultural Issues in Counseling.
Dr. Hillerman received his Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a focus area in theology from Mississippi State University. Previously, he received his MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary. His dissertation research examined the neurological impact of childhood maltreatment and its effects on adult counseling outcomes.
Dr. Hillerman is passionate about creating a learning environment and personal relationships that reflect God’s love and goodness. In this context, he helps students examine their deeply held beliefs about human nature, norms, dysfunction, and change. These beliefs are often unconsciously shaped by cultural assumptions, personal experiences, and an incomplete or culturally conditioned understanding of Scripture. He challenges them to identify the sources of these beliefs and to align them with a robust biblical anthropology, morality, and ethics, while reckoning with the comprehensive effects of the Fall. He also emphasizes common grace-based learning from counseling, psychology, and neuroscience, equipping students to develop an integrated, biblically faithful, and scientifically informed framework for Christian counseling practice.
Dr. Hillerman is a ruling elder at Highlands Presbyterian Church. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Board Qualified Supervisor in the state of Mississippi. His clinical experience includes counseling adult individuals, couples, adolescents and families in private practice, college, and church-based settings. In addition to his roles at RTS, Dr. Hillerman continues to maintain a part-time private counseling practice. Dr. Hillerman and his wife Cristy have four adult children.
